Public domain
Ancient Rivers
From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Billions of years ago, a river flowed across this scene in Mawrth Vallis. Like on Earth, these river beds can get filled up with rocks that are cemented together. After Mars became a colder, drier place and the river disappeared, the rocky river bed remained. In this HiRISE image, we see a dark ridge snaking across the surface. The dark ridge is the old river bed.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionCredit lineAncient Rivers. NASA/JPL, 2021-12-20. Public domain. ID: PIA25081.
